This is an absolute must and would cost thousands extra to retrofit. You’ll regret it too!

Lawn sprinkler, I would recommend you look into it.

Depends where you live and how 1.5 stacks up in the area. Where we are it was a necessity and expectation it be done. I also cannot fathom spending time watering our gardens and lawn without one. I wish we had spent more time really thinking the zones out and planning better but it was our first time having one and I underestimated how much amazingness it could be. Here we water lawn twice a week and gardens daily. No way I could do that efficiently by hand or with sprinklers attached to hose.

Have you gotten quotes for it? It’s a small cost in comparison to what you are spending on the home overall, and you won’t want to have to replace landscaping. These systems are so smart now, I run everything off my phone and use less water then dragging a sprinkler around.

I was not sure if this was about a fire suppression system or a lawn watering system.

I assumed fire suppression. That is more of a while we are building decision. We decided on one but our last house had burned down.

Interesting points. I fully admit to reading it as landscape related because of the rain comment.

We have landscape sprinklers but not in house ones. Oddly enough

Landscape sprinklers are easy to retrofit - sure it rips up a few things but not a big deal. I think it matters how much land you have and how much greenery you have. Also is it a clear lot or are there mature trees.

And then there is the type of grass - some really need irrigation to stay nice - others do not.

My build is 3 years old, a bit more money, and we don't have irrigation. Our last build I had retrofitted it and I think it was technically mandatory for the HOA. It was less money (1M today), and it was a big deal for the buyers.

I do have plenty of drip though - that isn't the same thing.

Thanks for everyon’s response. apologies i meant an outdoor lawn sprinkler system. our builder allocated a cost of 6k, which sounds high. googling it sounds like it costs 2-3k. can anyone confirm that? thankyou

A sprinkler system is only good if you know how to use it. I would think that in Houston, a 1.5 million home a sprinkler system is a must because there are dry spells just like there is any place in Texas.

A correctly used inground system provides a more efficient watering experience than other types of watering; somebody buying a 1.5 doesn't want to hand water or move sprinklers around.

Once you put it in you should contact a landscaper or someone from the city who can do a water and soil test to help you understand when water, for how long, set rotations and days of the week.

We really like our system powered by Rachio. It won't run if it's going to rain and has actually saved water compared to when we used to drag the garden hose and sprinkler head around the year to various locations. If you can afford it, go for it. Anything that makes our daily lives easier gets a big thumbs up from me.

Neil we can’t comment on pricing. We have no idea how complex your irrigation system is slated to be, how large your yard is, and what is planned.

$6k is normal for me (10 years ago when I last considered it). Impact fees or meter fees are common and vary based on jurisdiction. $1500 is typical meter fee around here (and is counted in the $6k probably) as is small monthly fee, backflow annual inspection fees and of course backflow maintenance costs. $200 annually was about mine.

While a properly designed system saves water, the vast majority are not (as evidenced by all the neighborhoods I ever walk or drive around - not actual proof).

A landscape irrigation system is a must if you love lawns and flower beds and like to see your plants and shrubs thrive and lawns looking prestine green all year round.

Plan your flower pots and beds, their size and locations, lawn size and grass type for your region, and work with your irrigation guy to plan drip/trickle (or any other) irrigation system for flower pots and flower/shrub beds next to the home or where you may not like to see overspray and sprinkler heads for larger flower/shrub beds and lawns. Additionally you may also want to install a water feature or two and this can be part of the irrigation supply system.

Not knowing the size of your propert, it may cost more than $6k, most likely but it's really a one time investment if done right the first time. Despite meticulous planning, I had our sprinkler guys come back a few times to adjust/replace/relocate heads, drips etc. before I was finally satisfied with the results which are finally amazing, to me anyway.

Running costs:

Unless you have free well water, be prepared to see a sizable water consumption bill, especially during extreme dry spells. We tend to use over 5000gallons/month during drier months and water is expensive here; we have months of dry weather in the extreme NW corner of the PNW.

The second backflow preventor needs to annually inspected and maintained by a certified professional.

Annual irrigation turn on, tune in, blow out by the irrigation company.

Maintenance: Arm yourself with basic irrigation maintenance tools. Learn how to replace spnnkler nozzles, they may blow off at times, add/replace drip irrigation emitters, keep a stock of emitters 1gph, 2gph etc., sprinkler nozzles, ask your irrigation guy to give you the entire spare sets of nozzles which come with each sprinkler head, drip irrigation lines (these things are really cheap and can be ordered on line etc.)

I tried to cover most things however let me know if you have any questions.